This is the story of the Rupnik Line, the Vallo Alpino and other fortifications of the Ljubljana Gap in the former Yugoslavia before, during and after World War II. They are covered in detail by a Slovenian author who has visited, researched and recorded the existing remains.

This book deals mainly with two fortification systems controlling the passage through the so-called Ljubljana Gap. These are the eastern part of the Vallo Alpino, built by Fascist Italy, and the Rupnik Line, built by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the first half of the twentieth century. While Vallo Alpino, thanks to its other parts, especially those along the border with France, was to some degree known, hardly anybody had ever heard about the Rupnik Line. Even within the borders of the former Yugoslavia these fortifications were either unheard of or forgotten.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: The Ljubljana Gap: The Geography

Chapter 3: The History of Military Developments and Fortifying of the Area

Chapter 4: The Eastern Part of ‘Vallo Alpino’: The Unknown Eastern Part

Chapter 5: The Rupnik Line

Chapter 6: The War

Chapter 7: The Ring of Wire

Chapter 8: Europe’s Soft Underbelly or the Ljubljana Gap Strategy

Chapter 9: Discovering the Rupnik Line

Chapter 10: Epilogue

Sources

Appendix: Plans of Individual Forts of the Eastern Part of Vallo Alpino